[en] A new approach to charge capture and ionization by highly stripped projectiles is described and shown to explain cross section systematics through the periodic table. Oscillations in cross section with respect to charge state observed around atomic number 70 are explained as an f-wave resonance in the target electron-projectile scattering. The ratio of H₂ to H cross sections for both light and heavy projectiles is shown to fit a two center coherent scattering model; independent scattering by the two centers is not a good assumption for velocities below 4 a.u. Similar coherence effects are predicted in stripping by molecular gases even in multi-electron processes where the independent atom model might be thought valid. Recent experiments on the forward peak of electrons ejected from the projectile show interesting structure which can be partly explained without invoking interference effects. 7 references